Events: Monday, July 22, 2013

Sketch troupe Tony Ho, recently profiled in the Grid‘s Funny People series, isn’t afraid to go black in its pursuit of comedy, so it’s a natural headliner for A Darker Side of Funny. Host Marc Hallworth also welcomes Fratwurst and Paddy MacDonald to this special edition of Jokebox Comedy Lounge’s weekly cabaret series.

When last we spoke to Bruce McCulloch, he and the rest of legendary sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall were in the midst of returning to the CBC with a new mini-series, Death Comes to Town. In the three years since then, McCulloch has written and performed a few solo live shows, including The Pink Dot Diaries at SF Sketchfest last year and, more recently, Young Drunk Punk here at Toronto Sketchfest in March. He has two upcoming performances at Hugh’s Room, on July 22 and 23.

No poop jokes, please: weekly musical theatre cabaret SINGular Sensation presents the first annual BackDora Awards, a tongue in cheek ceremony celebrating Toronto’s small-stage stars, the people who sing and entertain in Toronto backrooms and lounges. Based in part on the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, there will be performances by Billy Elliot’s David Light, cabaret performers Gabi Epstein and Chris Tsujiuchi, and more, plus awards, of course. (Formal attire encouraged.)

The name “Mesopotamia” derives from a Greek term meaning “land between the rivers.” The Royal Ontario Museum’s latest major exhibit, which opens on June 22, takes this literally, as visitors flow between painted representations of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the floor.

Presented by the British Museum and rounded out with pieces from institutions in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, “Mesopotamia: Inventing Our World” covers 3,000 years of human development in the cradle of urban civilization. Most of the 170 artifacts on display have never been shown in Canada.

Scott Wentworth as Tevye, with Jacquelyn French (Hodel), Keely Hutton (Chava) and Jennifer Stewart (Tzeitel) in Fiddler on the Roof. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Multiple venues

All day

If Fringe and SummerWorks aren’t enough to satisfy your summer theatre cravings, the world-renowned Stratford Festival is now only a bus ride away from downtown Toronto, thanks to the new Stratford Direct bus route (“the best thing [the Festival] has done in years” according to one usher at the Avon Theatre). Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has put together a season to please tastes from the traditional to the extravagant. Here’s what we think about five of Stratford’s current productions.

Flight: A Thrilling History of an Idea is a new exhibition from the Toronto Reference Library that gathers a number of rare items that explore the theme of the possible and the impossible. Some of the highlights on display are La vingtième siècle: la vie électrique (a rare French book that shows how scientific discoveries would have affected people in 1955), Tame (a sci-fi pulp magazine), and Worldly Wisdom (watercolour that depicts a Leonardo da Vinci-like figure creating a winged flying machine). You’ll find the exhibition in the library’s TD Gallery.

Will Ferrell finds out it's so good once it hits the lips in Old School. Image courtesy of the TIFF Film Reference Library.

TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West)

All day

When Animal House first turned the toga into suitable party attire in 1978, the landscape of the film comedy was forever altered. TOGA! The Reinvention of American Comedy, a new film series that kicked off Wednesday at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, seeks to chart the changing comedic sensibilities that have occurred in the years since the film’s release. From big budget blockbusters, to libido-fuelled sex romps, to carefully calibrated exercises in nuance and timing, the selections in the program are some of the funniest films ever made.

KC Roberts and the Live Revolution play the Beaches International Jazz Fest on Thursday.

Multiple venues

All day

The Beaches International Jazz Festival marks its 25th anniversary as it wraps up its 2013 edition this weekend. On tap are lots of cover bands, pan flute-led ensembles, and a sea of boomers in Hawaiian shirts walking their dogs.

Is that “Cheeseburger in Paradise” you just heard? Probably. Is that 70-year-old white gentleman in the “Canadian Tuxedo” doing a Bob Marley cover? You bet he is. One love, Toronto. Calling this event a jazz festival at this point is just illogical. The flavour is really more akin to the Taste of the Danforth, or Taste of the Kingsway,than a music festival.

So what’s the best way to enjoy this fest? Grab a seat on one of Queen Street East’s many great patios, get a bite and drink and soak up the great weather and the people watching. If you’re interested in going specifically for the music, don’t linger or wander. Head directly to see one of our top three picks, which are below.

Go shopping for dancing shoes, and then put them to use in the Town Square. Photo courtesy of the Shops at Don Mills.

Shops at Don Mills (1090 Don Mills Road)

7 p.m.

Like something out of a movie (except, you know, Footloose), you can spend your summer nights dancing in the open air of the Town Square. Join Dexter and Janice of DjDance as they lead Latin Salsa classes twice a week, all summer.